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Re: Building Another Barge?

Because of having to do so many things on this project myself, I decided to get a friend to make a console on his CNC machine. It took him several months to get to it because he's also a busy guy. It is the same guy who cut the pattern for the bow windows. We had to meet a few times to talk about it. The machine is fascinating- it uses puzzle joints and it cuts one thousandths of an inch over. It is fascinating to me but I have weak computer skills.

A big use for this machine for wooden boat building is making molds from plans. A shop could set up a fairly complex boat in 3 hours by subbing the mold stations to a CNC company. The rest of the boat could then be built conventionally. The molds can be shipped anywhere in the world and take up little space relatively when broken down. The CNC machine is a Shop Bot. My friend and another guy have been using them for many years. He has done other projects for me including a curved ceiling in a 22' room and it always comes out perfect. I really like the exactness. I like working with hand and power tools but the benefit of having something coming out perfect is also really nice. I have to tweak a few things because of the complexity of the console. It cannot cut bevels on the edges. The machine couldn't cut some of the angled dovetails. It did some of them but couldn't make them all. I am showing it before assembly.

Re: Building Another Barge?

As I work on the console I realized it would be more difficult to put in the window over it after installation, I decided to put that one in. They are boat windows made by Wynne Enterprises. I used butyl tape or whatever the man. suggested instead of sealant. Very hard to adjust after it makes contact with the cabin.
If I get caught out in bad weather I think I will be glad I have these windows in the front instead of Home Depot specials like in the rest of the cabin.

Re: Building Another Barge?

I helped build a light cabin on a poontoon. I suggested we use reclaimed van and RV windows and we did. They worked spectacularly. Unforunately, it limited us on the sizes we could find. From my understanding, boat and RV windows use the same glass and the frames are different but looking at yours I think the boat window frames are better. Only a few of ours had aluminum frames and they were't much more than thin angle bent to shape. Most of the windows had plastic frames. All of them were plastic inside. After a little paint, they all matched and looked good. We sealed them with gray butyl made for RVs and mobile home windows. They never leaked. They survived 15 years on the poontoon before it was sold off.

Re: Building Another Barge?

I started building the cabin door. I did not show all of the milling of the lumber.
It is 1 1/4" thick made of construction lumber from sweden. I used 10 mm Sipo Dominos for the joints. Love those things.

Re: Building Another Barge?

Originally Posted by waltwood

I started building the cabin door. I did not show all of the milling of the lumber.
It is 1 1/4" thick made of construction lumber from sweden. I used 10 mm Sipo Dominos for the joints. Love those things.

Nice. What are the panels?

It really is quite difficult to build an ugly wooden boat.
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Re: Building Another Barge?

Yes Nick, this is the way I've been building doors for awhile. The bottom panel will be plywood and the top Plexi or Lexan. The top one will be made in a frame and they will both be rabbeted in the door. Nothing fancy.

Re: Building Another Barge?

We glassed the cockpit in 4 sessions over 2 days. The 10 oz cloth was not wide enough to cover the full width but the main issue was how to apply the epoxy without getting into wet epoxy. We did the forward half the 1st day and the aft section the 2nd. It went pretty good but it worked me hard with the 3" lip on 3 sides and having to run it up the cabin wall on the 4th side. We were able to get 2 coats on in a day which is important. With this done it should free up numerous other projects. The weather has cooled off so I think it will start coming together. Please stay tuned.

Re: Building Another Barge?

The cockpit is painted at last! I am thrilled to have this done. What is not shown here is the 20 hours of sanding, fairing, and cleaning. I want to accentuate the cleaning. We do the brushing, tacking, and come back and do it again later. I used a two part epoxy primer with a one part top coat which has to be put on within 24 hours of each other by Bluewater paints. It's a product I have used before. It is a commercial boat paint for top sides, decks, etc. It came out pretty good.

Re: Building Another Barge?

Yes John. I have done a second top coat around the edges so I can mask it off for the non-skid. It is a real timing game. The paint has to be cured enough that the tape does not pull the paint off but it is fresh enough to bond to the final coat.

Re: Building Another Barge?

Corner of cockpit. Impossible to photograph non-skid.

Hatch. These are a really over priced boat item. This model was $160.00. That's a crazy price for a piece of plastic. Bowmar is supposed to be good and this is the largest one I could find. It is an access hatch not an inspection hatch and the former is more expensive. It is also double gasketed. Walmart had one for $90.00 but I was leary of a Walmart hatch. I had to wait 7 weeks to get this one because they were behind in production. Hatches are either $100.00 or $1000.00 when you get the good quality aluminum ones.

Re: Building Another Barge?

I ordered 3 surface mounted 3" hinges for the cabin door and 2 small "Marine" hinges for the console door from HardwareSource. They were awful poor quality. They were thin, stamped, and had rough edges. They had a lot of slap or play in them also. I could not install them on the boat. I got a pair of Stanley stainless steel butt hinges from my building supply that were really well made. I was not planning on mortising the hinges, I was going to surface mount. I thought it would look boaty and be easier. The butt hinges won't surface mount because of the knuckle protruding so I had to mortise the. I like cutting hinge mortises. I think 99% of people use pre-hung doors in home construction but I still hang my own. It gives me more control over the quality. I am a house carpenter for those new to the thread.

The cheaper hinge. I am sure it was made in China. The picture does not show how bad they are.

Re: Building Another Barge?

Besides building the houseboat I am adding on to my dining room at my house. The floor is adjacent to a large room that I did not want to refinish so I came up with the idea of inlaying a strip of mahogany between the 2 rooms as a cut off point for the floor sanding and refinishing. If you are wondering about the contrast in wood it is the theme through out the house. Also, as a challenge to the forum members, in 13 years of living in the house only one person has correctly identified the species of flooring. It is not uncommon but not used in my area I guess.

cutting the groove in the flooring

epoxying the strip in the groove providing clamping pressure with bowed sticks and complicated by the curved door opening. I did not want any fasteners showing.

Re: Building Another Barge?

Re: Building Another Barge?

Originally Posted by waltwood

Besides building the houseboat I am adding on to my dining room at my house. The floor is adjacent to a large room that I did not want to refinish so I came up with the idea of inlaying a strip of mahogany between the 2 rooms as a cut off point for the floor sanding and refinishing. If you are wondering about the contrast in wood it is the theme through out the house. Also, as a challenge to the forum members, in 13 years of living in the house only one person has correctly identified the species of flooring. It is not uncommon but not used in my area I guess.

cutting the groove in the flooring

epoxying the strip in the groove providing clamping pressure with bowed sticks and complicated by the curved door opening. I did not want any fasteners showing.